Let's Do It Randomly

I've been blogging a lot lately without saying a whole lot about what's really going on in our life - haha. Funny how you can get away with that on a blog. A cute picture, a few words - and voila! A post. But at our women's retreat we talked about having real connections and friendships - more than just projecting a "perfect" image of yourself or what you want people to think you are.

So here's real life at the Zavala house (long, but real):

My Kids are...

The Big Boy:
-Hayden is still going to school 5 days a week. He's in the PEAR program at Patsy Sommer Elementary. It's two hours of speech therapy in a classroom setting with other kids with speech issues. They create lessons from a different book each week. All the new words and concepts are from the book. They've done Goldilocks and the Three Bears/We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Knuffle Bunny/Goodnight Moon, and many more! Each week is a new story and new words. They have a vocab "test" on Friday to measure progress.

-It's really hard to wake up each morning for Hayden's school. I'm a night owl by nature. Going to bed early is something I'm working on.

-Hayden got a "note from the teacher" last week that sent me into tears (of course I was a little hormonal that week, but whateva') I'm over it now.

-Hayden is continually cracking us up with his little comments. You never know what he's going to say. My Facebook statuses are generally his hilarious interactions.

-He's a sassy three year old. We're working on it.

-Potty training is, well, ugh.

The Baby Boy:

-Corbin is getting speech and feeding (with sensory) therapy. No words yet. We do joint compressions, brushing, and lots of other stuff daily with him. Won't go into that unless someone is interested.

-Corbin loves going outside now. First thing in the morning he heads for the door and starts jiggling the handle to get out.

-He's completely mastered forks/spoons and prefers eating with utensils. He's also quickly picking up drinking out of regular cups. The other day he had snagged a cup off the table taken a few drinks (without spilling) and was walking around with it before I noticed a thing. I'm still amazed it wasn't spilled.

-His baby sign language has expanded (since it's his only communication). He's got Help, more, all done, cup, eat, please, and we're working this week on hurt.

-He's been off antibiotics now for over a month and I can't tell you how awesome it is not to have to remember that every day. His eating has improved too.

I'm reading...

Calm My Anxious Heart - again. Love this book! One of these days I hope to master "Not complaining about anything - even the weather." Maybe when I'm 90...

Hunger for God - Required for The Lord's Table Mentorship course I'm doing.

I'm watching...

Excessive amounts of Netflix. Every spare 5 minutes!! I'm caught up on Lost now, so I'm able to enjoy the current season. Just finished The Dresden Files - too bad only one season of that. Wives and Daughters 4 part serious was good if you like that time period. Currently catching up on The Dead Zone - used to watch that years ago, apparently they went six seasons so I'm all for that. Also watched Kidnapped - again really good but only one season. Booooo. I enjoy the TV shows the best because I can snatch a spare hour every now and then, but sitting down for a whole movie can be challenging.

I'm reading online...

A lot less blogs!! And I'm happier for it.

The kitchen remodel...

Is done. Well the part we paid for is done. We ended up hiring another guy to finish it. Long story. Now I just need to paint and remove wallpaper - yuck!

My menu planning...

Is non-existent these days...I'm slacking and my budget shows it. I gotta get back at it!!

I'm enjoying...

Mentoring with The Lord's Table. After going through it last fall I decided to apply to be a mentor. After completing the first month of coursework I got accepted and have already started mentoring! I have about 70 more days of the mentorship course left (until then I'm an apprentice mentor) - but it's been awesome. More so for me than anything - keeps me connected and in the Bible daily.

I've been...

On a women's retreat - it was awesome! Really enjoyed hanging out with the other ladies in our church. This was my first retreat and I loved it.

I've been downloading...

New tunes...It Is Well, Flower (Moby), Salvation is Here, Something Beautiful, and This World

I've been thinking...

About how we tear each other down (especially women) through comparing, judging, and criticizing. It's not easy to admit, and it's even harder to stop! Even if it's only in my head, it's still detrimental to my heart. Even worse, if it's not in my head! Ick.

My verse this week:

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.

Another reminder that I do nothing of worth without Him, and if He asks something of me, He's the one who gives me the strength and resources to do it.

Favorite story...

At our retreat our speaker, Laura, told us the background story to It Is Well...that left an impression on me and I've been singing it ever since. If you have a few moments, it's well worth reading.

Okay...now you're caught up! So catch me up - how have you been?